As 2025 draws to a close, we reflect on a year marked by hard truths and hopeful progress. While progress at the federal level has been limited, with funding delays and a prolonged government shutdown, states have taken the lead. Across the country, bold action and policy victories at the state level remind us that change is possible when educators, families, and advocates organize together. These local wins offer valuable lessons and a clear path forward for building a stronger and more equitable child care system.
This year, family child care (FCC) educators had a seat at the table—meeting with congressional staffers, joining Hill visits, and mobilizing for A Day Without Child Care. Their voices shaped national conversations and strengthened the call for bold, sustained investment in the early care and education system.
Big Wins in State Policy
New Mexico
On November 1, New Mexico became the first state in the nation to guarantee universal child care for all residents, regardless of income. Families stand to save up to $12,000 annually in child care costs and committed to a mixed delivery system that includes family child care educators, family, friend, and neighbor caregivers, and other community-based programs.
NAFCC State Representative Olga Grays played a powerful role in the movement for change. A family child care educator in Albuquerque, Olga helped fight for more than a decade to make this possible. You can read more about her advocacy and impact in our recent blog: In Their Own Words: Olga Grays, New Mexico.
Connecticut
Approved the creation of an Early Childhood Endowment to expand the state-funded Early Start program. The endowment is projected to grow to over $1 billion within 3–5 years, supporting educator wage increases, a health care subsidy, 20,000 new infant/toddler and Pre-K spaces, eliminating copays for families under $100,000, and capping costs at 7 percent for families with higher incomes.
Texas
Finalized a state budget that includes $100 million in unexpended TANF funds to support child-care scholarships administered by the Texas Workforce Commission—helping reduce waitlists for families across the state.
Massachusetts
In 2025, the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care increased reimbursement rates for child care providers who accept state Child Care Financial Assistance. This increase strengthens financial stability for family child care educators and expands access for families statewide.
Accross the Nation
States are creating dedicated trust funds for early care and education, recurring stable, long-term funding beyond yearly budgets. The Alliance for Early Success reports progress on early-childhood policies in all 50 states, including wage raises, expanded eligibility, and new funding sources for family child care and early learning.
Family Child Care Wins
California – Home-Based FCC Providers’ Contract
Home-based providers in California, through the union Child Care Providers United (CCPU), ratified a 2025–2028 contract that secures stabilization pay, cost-of-living adjustments, health care coverage, and retirement benefits for family child care educators.
Michigan
The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) awarded $2.6M to support the creation of Family Child Care Network Hubs across the state. These hubs will provide technical assistance, business support, and professional development tailored specifically to family child care educators.
Continued Momentum for Early Care & Education
Child care continues to be a winning issue. Voters in multiple communities approved new funding mechanisms for early care in 2025, showing that investment in child care resonates at the local level.
(Children’s Funding Project)
A national review of state legislative sessions found that 47 states had an opportunity to pass budgets last year, and many included meaningful supports for child care and early learning despite the absence of new federal relief.
(Child Care Aware of America)
New York City elected a mayor who ran on a platform of universal childcare. Connecticut, New Mexico, Texas, and Virginia have made bold investments that demonstrate what’s possible when early educators, families, and advocates collaborate to build power at the state level.
These victories send a clear message to Congress: families are demanding action, and the time for federal investment is now.
What’s Next
- Continue building state and local power to drive national change.
- Push Congress to fully fund programs that support child care educators and families.
- Keep raising the voices of family child care educators, whose work anchors access, quality, and stability for children and families nationwide.
At NAFCC, we remain committed to placing family child care educators at the center of every policy conversation, a reflection of our shared truth: We are Family Child Care.
With gratitude and determination,
The NAFCC Policy and Movement Building Team
